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Wright: A look at New Mexico's Black boxing history
Juneteenth, June 19, is a federal holiday โ Emancipation Day for black Americans.
Zim Satcher, a Rio Rancho boxing trainer, is a Black man who studied The Sweet Science with the late Joe Louis Murphy, a Black boxer named for a Black boxer. Murphy, an Albuquerque native, was a boyhood friend of the late Bob Foster, a Black man and New Mexicoโs first professional world champion.
When Satcher called the Journal last week, he said it wasnโt really with a story in mind. He was just extending an invitation to come by and see how his boxing club was growing โ and how his son, Zimbalist Satcher Jr., was progressing.
But Satcher did reference Juneteenth, in essence extending an invitation to reflect on the Black communityโs contribution to boxing in New Mexico.
For Satcher, that begins and ends with Murphy, who died in 2023 at age 86.
โHe was a hero to many,โ Satcher said, โand he was an African-American hero here.โ
For most of us, though, it began with Foster, the undisputed world light heavyweight champion from May 1968 to June 1974 โ having successfully defended the title 13 times.
Foster (51-8-1, 46 knockouts) ranks among the fiercest punchers of all time. A charter member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he died in 2015 at 76.
Of New Mexicoโs five world menโs world champions โ Foster, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero, Austin Trout and Angelo Leo โ two, Foster and Trout, are Black.
Murphy was never a world champion. His record, (13-11-3, four KOs), compiled between 1955 and 1966, may seem unimpressive, particularly in comparison to Fosterโs. Murphyโs contributions continued through the decades, however, as a trainer and promoter.
Professional boxingโs U.S. fan base is predominantly Hispanic, especially in the Southwest. As a natural consequence, so are most of the boxers.
Not all.
Trout (37-5-1, 18 KOs), a Las Cruces southpaw, defeated Rigoberto Alvarez for the WBA junior middleweight title in February 2011 and successfully defended four times โ one of those against Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden โ before losing the belt to Rigobertoโs brother Canelo in April 2013.
Trout continues to campaign in bare-knuckle fighting. Unbeaten (5-0) in BKFC competition, heโs scheduled to face Ben Bonner on July 3 in Philadelphia for that organizationโs lightweight title.
He was a USA Boxing national champion and a 2004 Olympic alternate as an amateur.
Foster, Trout and Murphy, then, stand out among New Mexicoโs Black fighters and contributors.
There have been others.
Siju Shabazz, Troutโs former training partner in Las Cruces, won a Golden Gloves national title in 2007. Shabazz was 6-3 with five KOs as a pro, campaigning from 2012-17.
Itโs in the amateur ranks that lighter-weight Black New Mexicans made the most impact.
Earl Large (119 pounds) and Brooks Byrd (125), both of Clovis, won Golden Gloves national titles in 1967. Santa Feโs Ray Theragood (119) did so in 1972.
Large boxed professionally from 1968-79, compiling a 38-17 record with 16 KOs. Byrd was 20-8-2 with 15 KOs as a pro from 1971-76. Theragood did not box as a pro.
Other New Mexico Black boxers from the pro ranks: Bruce Sewell (3-2-1, โ85-86); Jason Bray, a Bob Foster protรฉgรฉ who fashioned a 6-0 (3 KOs) pro record from 1982-86 before moving on in life; Tony Foster (6-2, four KOs, โ84-88), Bobโs son; Tony McNary (3-2, two KOs,โ85-86); Richard Fowler (13-20-1, five KOs, โ75-95); Bobby Alexander (1-2, one KO, โ85-03); Jay Murphy (2-4, no KOs, โ85-86), Joe Louis Murphyโs nephew; most recently, Jordan Gregory (2-3-3, no KOs, 2017-23).
The contribution of Black trainers like Joe Louis Murphy (Albuquerque), Willie Hall (Roswell), Henry Compton (Alamogordo) and Zim Satcher (Rio Rancho) should not go unappreciated.
